Paducah Propeller Club Presents Maritime Awards

The Paducah (Ky.) Propeller Club remembered fallen mariners, presented scholarships and honored two club members with awards at its Maritime Day Ceremony and Merchant Mariner Memorial May 17.

Caleb King, the club’s president, said the club has representatives from 67 maritime-related businesses in the Paducah area and beyond and has nearly doubled its membership from its low during the COVID-19 pandemic. The club hosted the Bob Day Classic golf tournament May 16, which funded two $1,500 scholarships. They went to Levi Brown, a senior at Paducah Tilghman High School, and Audrey Haley, a senior at McCracken County High School.

Maritime Person Of The Year

Club board member Ian McVicker introduced Darin Adrian, president of Marquette Transportation’s river division, as the Paducah club’s Maritime Person of the Year.

McVicker is vice president of corporate compliance and regulatory affairs for Marquette Transportation, so he knows Adrian well. He began by posing a question he said he read in an article about knowing whether you are in the right organization. The question was “How many of the people you work with are legendary?”

“For me the answer was simple,” he said. “I’m surrounded by legends every day, both vessel and shoreside, and today we are here to honor one of them.”

McVicker said Adrian represents the best of what it takes to lead, serve and move the industry forward with integrity and purpose.

“Darin leads without fanfare,” McVicker said. “He builds relationships. He solves problems. He shows up again and again with focus and resolve as a voice of reason in our industry.”

Adrian began his career in 1986 as a dispatcher in the traffic department of Marquette Transportation back when it was headquartered in Cassville, Wis.

“It wasn’t glamorous,” McVicker said. “It wasn’t high-profile, but it was the start of a career built on hard work, consistency and vision.”

Adrian was part of the core team that moved the company to Paducah in 1990. Over nearly four decades his career progressed, with time spent as traffic manager, in sales and logistics and as executive vice president of operations before attaining his current position.

“In each role he brought a deep understanding of river transportation and a steady hand in both operations and leadership,” McVicker said. “Today, as president of the river division, Darin leads sales and operations while aligning strategy across Marquette’s divisions. His leadership helps keep one of the nation’s largest marine transportation companies running safely and efficiently every single day.”

McVicker said Adrian’s impact goes beyond the company, with service on the River Industry Executive Task Force (RIETF) and at the regional and national levels of the American Waterways Operators. Adrian has also lent his time and support to efforts like the Seamen’s Church Institute’s River Bell committee, Living Lands and Waters, River Discovery Center and the Propeller Club.

“These aren’t resume items,” McVicker said. “They’re commitments, commitments to the industry, to the people in it and to making our waterways stronger and safer for the next generation.”

In accepting the award, Adrian said he was both humbled and honored.

“This recognition is not just a personal achievement for me, though, but a testament to the collective efforts of a dedicated team at Marquette and the maritime community that defines Paducah.”

Adrian noted that this month he is starting his 40th year with Marquette Transportation. When he and his wife, Lisa, moved to Paducah in 1990, she was 7½ months pregnant with their first child, and the Paducah community was not only welcoming but also helpful in getting them settled.

“The people in this industry, it’s unlike any other,” Adrian said. “We compete for business daily, sometimes fiercely, but at the end of the day we come together, without question, and support one another.”

Recent high water was a perfect example of the river industry coming together to keep commerce moving, Adrian said, adding that so was the low water over the past three years.

He concluded by saying, “The river industry is a big deal in Paducah. The Propeller Club is truly dedicated to the enhancement and wellbeing of all the interests of the maritime community. Let’s continue to support them in their efforts, because the people of this community and the area truly make it a place where you want to live. The maritime community makes it a place where the people who work in it and around it can prosper.”

Port Person Of The Year

King introduced Shelley Byrne of The Waterways Journal as the Port Person of the Year.

Byrne is the Ohio Valley correspondent and a copy editor for the publication.

King said the award goes to someone who has made notable contributions to the port of Paducah, demonstrated support through maritime-related functions and has been an advocate for the marine industry. He said Byrne made an immediate impact to the organization through public advocacy, articles and “a can-do kind of attitude.”

“She’s a person who has a passion about what she is writing about,” King said. “At our regular membership meetings, you’ll see her. She’ll get out her notepad. She’ll start taking copious notes. I’m sure all reporters do that, but it’s her interest and her demeanor and her way of approaching that just strikes me as a good person to be a representative of the maritime industry. She’ll ask questions of the presenters, and they’re not just crazy questions. They’re actually good, inquisitive, thought-provoking questions that actually end up in print if you read The Waterways Journal. And, of course, she engages all our attendees, who represent a majority of the marine industry. For Shelley, it’s more than a story to fill pages. Clearly, she has a desire to present adequate information and facts that will benefit the reader.”

In particular, he mentioned a virtual membership meeting the club set up during the COVID-19 crisis where Byrne was asked to present to special guest U.S. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky about how the pandemic was impacting the maritime industry.

“She really rose to the occasion and delivered outstandingly,” King said.

In her remarks, Byrne first thanked the club.

“Your friendship and your willingness to share your expertise over these last years means so much to me,” she said. “They’ve been invaluable as I’ve been working.”

Byrne said that for years she has heard people responding to getting an award by saying, “I was just doing my job.” She said she now understands a little better how that feels.

“Most days it doesn’t feel like a job,” she said. “I love meeting people. I love telling their stories, and I hope that shows in the work that I do.”

She also thanked her employer for the opportunities that she has had as a result, including seeing Nashville and Pittsburgh from the wheelhouses of towboats and even “chasing” a bridge upriver as it was floated on barges from the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority to its final destination on the Cumberland River in Smithland, Ky.

Byrne also thanked her family for their love and support and the lessons they taught her through the years about having a good work ethic, doing things the right way every time and taking the time always to show compassion to others.

Featured image caption: Ian McVicker (left), vice president of corporate compliance and regulatory affairs for Marquette Transportation, introduced Darin Adrian, president of Marquette’s river division, at the Propeller Club of Paducah’s May 17 Maritime Day Ceremony. Adrian was named the Paducah Propeller Club’s maritime person of the year. (Photo courtesy of Marquette Transportation)